Wisdom Before Wealth

Introduction

a. We just finished one of the most financially draining periods of each year - Christmas. Buying gifts and enjoying more events usually requires extra money during the holidays. Extra is spent at Thanksgiving followed by Christmas and then the resolution to be better prepared for the next year. Some of you have great discipline and prepare throughout the year. You budget well and plan for the holidays. Others are spontaneous. A special gift catches your eye and the credit card comes out. Before long too many special gifts leaves our credit card balance much higher than we wanted and we find ourselves celebrating Christmas much longer than we intended.

b. In all the years of preaching, I cannot remember speaking about the principles of money. George Kohlbacher and I did a class years ago about this topic. Frank and I will be preaching on the Kingdom Economics and the Principles of Money with a focus on Proverbs for the months of January and February. The series is designed to make us more aware of what God says about money and how we can respond to God's thinking about it. The series calls us to think about money and to make sure our hearts align with God. We will talk about how to make money, how to spend it, how to manage it, generosity, contentment, and an eternal perspective. Frank and I are aware of the sensitivity of this subject, but the Bible speaks about money and giving more than it does love, hope, and faith combined. So it must be important and we need to address important subjects.

c. Money is spent everyday. From the food eaten to the heating and cooling in our homes to paying bills, every day we have deal with money. When I started at FHU, I was sitting in a faculty meeting in which the president at that time said that he woke up every day knowing that he had to help raise $100,000. While the numbers are not the same, every day we have to have a certain amount of money to live. To live in this world, requires money. There are numerous jobs associated with the financial realm and lots of opinions about how money can be made, spent, and budgeted. Lots of opinions exist. Maybe we should hear what God has to say about the subject. That is what this series is about. God doesn't plan your budget, but he can tell us how to think about a budget. God doesn't plan your investments, but he can tell us about the subject. We can trust God for our salvation. We can trust God about money.

First Things First

a. I was 30 years old when I started a retirement account. O'Neil Parker had been encouraging me for several years to start one. He knew my salary since he was on the finance committee. He knew I had two small children. He knew that Barbara and I had chosen for her to stay home with the kids rather than have a job outside of the home. He kept saying "a little bit of money and a lot of time and you can be prepared for retirement." I missed the first 10 years of contributing to an account for retirement. Those 10 years make a huge difference. But at 30, we started and O'Neil walked the path with us initially helping us to decide where to set aside the money and how to do it each month. I'm thankful for him and his wisdom.

b. And that's the point. Wisdom is necessary for money to benefit. There are lots of folks who make the same amount of money but who have very different experiences with it. The median income in Shelby County is $65,000. Some struggle and some live well. Why? Choices made. Budgets made or not made. Financial discipline practiced or not. There are things that happen outside of one's choice but remove those things and life is filled with financial choices. How one spends money affects others. And in a culture that encourages spending and advertises best things to have and pushes us to be gratified then listening to God matters.

c. Let's look at Proverbs 3. The modern day phone has changed how we interact with others. We have learned the beauty of texting using emojis and words to speak for us. And when there are calls, we now look at our screens and decide whether to answer. I can remember when a ringing phone meant drop what you were doing, hurry to the phone, and answer it. We never knew who it was or what the call might mean. Not so much now. If it is a number we don't recognize, let it go to voice mail. If it's important they will leave a message. If there is no message, we don't need to worry with it. In fact, in many cases we assume that the unrecognized number is a scam. We have gone from trusting to not trusting. What has this to do our text?

d. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. We do not easily trust. We don't recognize a number, we don't answer. We get a text telling us our warranty is expired on our car and we delete it. We find it difficult to trust including God. The thing with money is that God doesn't need it but he knows what it means to us. When Jesus asked for a coin in a debate, he acknowledged that money was the world's domain, but he also made the point that everything belongs to God. The coin represents what is required to live in this world. Every culture has a monetary system. Some cultures it is based on a battering principle - my expertise in exchange for yours - but is a monetary system.

e. We live in a capitalism that allows for wealth to be earned and kept. Our system rewards to an extent hard work. When Jesus asked for the coin, he knew exactly what he was doing. The coin is needed for us to live in the world, but where is your heart? Is your heart in the coin and what it can do for you? Or does your heart belong to God? This is the Proverbs statement. Trust God. Trust him more than yourself. Trust his ways more than your ways. Trust his thinking more than your own. Trust him more than your wealth. In fact, the writer says that when we trust God first, then he will take care of us. Sounds like Matthew 6:33. Seek God's kingdom first and all these material things will be given to you as well.

God's Plan

a. God's plan is simple to understand but difficult to implement. Pursue wisdom and let God worry about the wealth part. What is wisdom? Wisdom is seeing the world as God sees it. Wisdom is practical and God centered. It is living life for God because you revere him. Wisdom and Foolishness are two women in Proverbs both calling for a response. The person who hears the call of wisdom will not only be wise but will be blessed in so many ways. The person who hears the call of the fool will be cursed.

b. Look at 3:13-16. Wisdom is better than wealth and yet if one pursues wisdom or we can say the heart of God then they will be blessed with long life and wealth. But verse 17 speaks volumes. Her paths are peace. Lots of wealthy people are not at peace. There are some who are worried about their money that they have no peace. There are some who haven't learned how to be content. Money doesn't give them life (v. 19) it brings them disorder, worry, and discontentment. So what's the plan?

c. Verse 9. Give God the firstfruits. We are not farmers and so this language may be lost on us. Harvest time in Israel took place over a period of months depending on what had been planted. Typically, barley was harvested in early spring; then came wheat; then grapes in middle and late summer; followed by dates and figs. Then the planting started again. Harvesting was a months long process. The author says give to God the first part of the harvest. Before the rest of it comes in. When you have been waiting for the barley to grow. When the flour is getting low. When there are no grocery stores with abundance. When the first harvest comes, take from that harvest and give it to God in sacrifice.

d. To put it into our culture. When the paycheck comes, make sure you take the first part of your harvest to God. Before you pay the bills, before you go out to eat, before you pay yourself; make sure God gets what belongs to him first. Why? This practice conveyed that the ancient family trusted God to bring in the rest of the harvest. Same is true for us. We are trusting God for what is needed. We give God the first and the best because we know God can give more. This is what the writer acknowledges in verse 10. This is wisdom. See this the way God sees it. What do you value? Where is your heart? Who do you trust? Hear the call of wisdom to trust God with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Submit to him.

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